Wednesday, 31 December 2014

The last day of 2014. Despite a temptation to choose the best of a great year, here is a pick-me-up for those suffering from cold or flu. The year 2011. It is the middle of April in Thorsby Park, Nottinghamshire. Well and truly Spring.

The miraculous white blossom trees leading to Thoresby Hall.

Perhaps the oldest oak tree on the estate. There is still a stirring of green on the old man.

Tuesday, 30 December 2014

Last year we noticed that, following work on constructing a children's play area in the woodland at Nostell Priory, winter aconites (Eranthis) had seeded in the churned up soil and made a welcome splash of colour. Well they are back in some abundance, thriving in the very moist soil.

It may still be 2014 but the first flowers of spring are upon us.

The Obelisk Lodge is at the far end of the meadow that will look so lush with wild flowers in high summer. Today it looked for all the world like the arctic tundra. The lodge was still inhabited until the late 1950s. Astonishing because the living accommodation is tiny.

Nostell Priory itself.

Hamamelis were planted a year or so back in the estate. (Somewhere I have photographs of them...) One has burst into flower before even the old leaves have been discarded.

Monday, 29 December 2014

A very cold day today but so bright. Ice cascaded from the roof, breaking four pots. a small cloche and cutting the life from a number of plants I had been hoping to feature here. For therapy we travelled to nearby Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.

One of the premier houses in England, Chatsworth looked fabulous in the snow, the shadow from the huge fountain making its diagonal path across the untouched white.

The Derbyshire countryside and in the distance St Peter' s Church and Edensor Village

The Emperor Fountain named after Tsar Nicholas 1. He never actually visited the estate to see Joseph Paxton's impressive and record breaking construction.

Deborah Cavendish, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, sculptured wonderfully by Angela Conner. The late Duchess was very much loved. It is very largely due to her work and imagination that the estate and house live on in their present majestic state.

I did not snowball Prince Charles, honest! A purely natural phenomena and very funny.

Giant American Redwood.

Such an interesting close-up.

Sir Joseph Paxton completed the Great Conservatory in 1840, a construction so large that Queen Victoria drove through it in her carriage. The First World War was its downfall, with maintenance and manpower impossible to continue. It was demolished in 1920 leaving only part of its outer shell to house what is now a maze. Interestingly, one may still enter one of the tunnels underneath, built for the underground rail wagons to transport coal for heating.

A snow blossom tree with steam rising due to the bright sunshine.

Glasshouses old and new.

Capability Brown's "natural" backdrop.

The Cascade completed in 1708. There was still a faint trickle of water.

The Dukes of Devonshires' family motto “Cavendo Tutus”, the giant urns and giant window casements have been recently restored in gold leaf, but just as eye-catching is the cleaned stonework.

Sunday, 28 December 2014

Snow still covers our garden so I shall defer my exploration of current winter blooms and return to the shores of Lake Maggiore. The gardens of Villa Taranto commenced in 1931 when a Scottish sea captain, Neil McEacharn, purchased the villa and set about a transformation of an already gloriously located lakeside terrain into one of the world's finest gardens.

Upon entering the gardens one sees the Putti Fountain catches the eye but as shown below, the giant leaves of the Colocasia antiquorum lend the scene an architectural glory.

The stunning flat pads of the giant lily, Victoria cruziana, grace the glasshouse. The seeds arrived from, of all places, Stckholm, in 1956. From South America via Scandinavia.

From memory this is a view from the mausoleum, a photograph of which I could have sworn I had taken. For now, dear bowser, please wait for a post about the very wet visit we made in 2014. It is plain to see the gardeners have replicated my lawn mowing skills.

Were I to win a lottery I rarely participate in I might purchase this little corner of paradise. The former home of Captain McEacharn the house is somewhat incongruous being in the style of Normandy and is some sort of local government residence now.

The terraced gardens take the breath away they are so breath-taking. (To repeat myself.)

Saturday, 27 December 2014

Our garden is submerged in snow today so forgive the retreat to sunnier climes. The warmth and sun of Lake Maggiore seem a dream. We were there for a fortnight in August but the rain was incessant. So it's back to 2009.

The largest example of a Kashmir Cypress in Europe. After 200 years a storm in 2006 toppled it though efforts have been made to replant the old fellow, offering support in his old age.

"Madame Bovary" author Gustave Flaubert described Isola Madre as "the most sensual place that I have ever seen in the world'.

The botanical gardens are often described as being in the English tradition. The weather and climate allow the Italian gardeners to be more English than the English.

White peacocks and golden pheasants add to the enchanted feel of the gardens.

Close-up photographs can cheat on the actual scale of a subject but my memory records this as a giant bloom.